Message To Comrade Mayor Miller

In two elections your whole campaign was based on the premise that the feds and Queen's Park would give your keys to everythink in the mall and all they have done is give you the keys to the corner candy store. If your were an honorable person you would do one or both of the following:

* resign because you failed to deliver the goods as your promised (If you have the receipt for the new broom you might be able to return it.)
* immediately stop providing the services you say are a provincial responsibility. (Can you imagine the havoc and the protests in the courts and welfare offices and on the lawn outside Queen's Park.

$2.3 billion surplus leaves city seeing red TheStar.com - News - $2.3 billion surplus leaves city seeing red

As Toronto announces more grim details of cuts, province finds wad of cash and tells city not to expect `rescue'

August 18, 2007

Robert Benzie
Rob Ferguson
Queen's Park Bureau

The provincial government is awash in cash heading into the fall election, but Finance Minister Greg Sorbara insists there's no bail-out for Toronto.

"We are not designing a rescue plan for the city of Toronto," he said yesterday after disclosing the treasury had a surprise $2.3 billion surplus last year – after first projecting a $1.4 billion deficit – and is expected to forecast a $750 million surplus this fiscal year, which began April 1.

Sorbara emphasized that the Liberals, who hold 17 of the 22 seats in the city, have increased funding to Toronto "by some 500 per cent" since taking power in 2003.

"I wish we could say that for every municipality, but we acknowledge the circumstances of the city of Toronto are unique," he told a Queen's Park news conference.

The city is facing a $575 million budget shortfall next year, and Mayor David Miller has announced service cuts of $34 million this year and $83 million next year.

He did it because city council deferred until Oct. 22 his plan to introduce a land transfer tax and vehicle registration fee that together would have raised $356 million.

City councillors yesterday demanded the province give Toronto the help it needs.

"Mr. Sorbara needs to get a crowbar, open his wallet, and give Toronto the resources it needs to be successful,'' Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong said.

The provincial announcement came on the same day city officials detailed how the cuts will impact neighbourhoods.